This invention relates to the field of soft sided insulated containers. In particular it relates to soft sided insulated containers having a division between zones to permit different environments to be established in different zones.
In recent times soft sided insulated containers have become popular for carrying either articles that may best be served cool, such as beverages or salads, or warm, such as appetizers, hot dogs, and so on. Such containers are frequently used to carry liquids, whether hot liquids, such as soup containers, coffee or tea, or cold liquids such as beer pop, juices and milk. The containers are typically made in a generally cube like shape, whether of sides of equal length or not, having a base, four upstanding walls, and a top. The top is generally a lid which opens to permit articles to be placed in, or retrieved from, the container.
By the nature of their use, it is advantageous for the containers to be water tight. That is, whether to hold melted run-off from ice cubes or to hold spilled liquids, the container must be sufficiently liquid tight that it does not leave a trail of drips, or become moist or sticky to the touch of a person carrying the container.
The present inventor has found it disadvantageous to try to seal the container itself. Some types of insulating wall are sewn at their seams. Sewn seams have a tendency to leak at the stitches. Another approach is to fold the insulated blanket from which the container is made, to present an assembly that, through folding, has no seams. This is also disadvantageous, in the present inventor""s view, because the insulated blanket used to form the container walls is relatively thick. The thick material may not tend to make a compact fold. It would be preferable to form an impermeable layer that has a relatively thin wall thickness so that the resulting product does not look bulky and cumbersome.
It is also advantageous to be able to clean the inside of the insulated container. Spilt liquids may not always have the most attractive air when allowed to dry, and may cause the inside of the container to become unsightly. It is possible to provide a plastic liner for soft sided insulated containers. A see-through plastic liner can be made of the minimum amount of material by using only a single layer, and forming seams where the edges of the material meet. A common method of forming such a seam is to weld two adjacent edges together by heating. However, an existing liner of this type is known to have had a tendency for the heat welded seams to develop leaks over time. It would be advantageous to reduce or eliminate the number of heat welded seams formed in areas of the liner that may need to be water tight.
In general, manufacture of an assembly of this type emphasizes cost reduction. One common source of cost savings is a reduction of the raw material used. However, the present inventor has observed, counter-intuitively, that the overall benefit an increase in raw material use can outweigh the cost saving that would otherwise be achieved. Unexpectedly, the use of a greater amount of material in a folded assembly has been found to be advantageous, and has eliminated the need to have a heat welding station in manufacture.
It may also be that, along with objects to be carried in a leak proof chamber at one temperature, another type of good may also be desired, requiring a different environmental condition. For example, it may be inconvenient for persons going to a picnic to carry a different insulated container for each type of food. They may prefer a single container that permits more than one type of food to be carried. That is, it may be preferable to have one zone in the insulated container for a cold, or very cold item, such as ice cream, and another zone for cool items, such as fruit or drinks. Alternatively, one zone may contain canned drinks in ice, while another zone contains warm or hot foods such as pizza or hamburgers. Temperature is not the only determinant factor. For example, while an ice filled zone may be damp inside, other objects, such as bread or some fruits and vegetables, may need a less moist environment.
The proportion of the types of objects to be placed in the container may not always be the same. In those situations, it may be advantageous to be able to alter the relative proportions of the volumes of the zones. It may also be advantageous to provide a stabilizer to segregate items, or to discourage items from shifting during transport.
In an aspect of the invention there is a soft-sided insulated container, and a removable liner for placement inside the container. The liner is folded from a monolithic sheet of liner stock to define a chamber, capable of holding liquids. The liner is free of heat welded seams.
In another feature of that aspect of the invention the liner is made from a water impermeable plastic sheet. In an additional feature of that aspect of the invention the liner is made from a translucent static cling vinyl sheet. In another additional feature of that aspect of the invention the soft sided insulated container has a base, sides and a top. The liner has a base, sides for placement inside and adjacent to the base and sides of the container. The top of the container is moveable to an open position to permit articles to be placed in the chamber.
In still another additional feature of that aspect of the invention the chamber has an opening, the opening having a lip, and the liner is mated to the cooler about the lip. In yet another additional feature of that aspect of the invention the opening has four sides, the lip extends about the four sides opening and the liner is mated to the container on the four sides. In a further additional feature of that aspect of the invention the liner has a rectangular base and four sides extending from the base, each of the sides having an edge adjoining the base and a distal edge distant from the base. The chamber has an opening defined between the distal edges of the sides.
In a still further additional feature of that aspect of the invention one of the sides has a lid member extending therefrom, the lid member being moveable to close the opening of the liner. In yet another additional feature of that aspect of the invention the lid member is a flap formed integrally with the liner, the flap having four lid edges, one edge being a folded hinge edge adjoining one of the distal edges of the sides, the remaining three lid edges having a closure for mating with the remaining three distal edges.
In another aspect of the invention there is a removable liner for placement inside the container. The liner is formed from a water impermeable plastic sheet. The sheet has a periphery. The liner has a quadrilateral base and four sides extending from the base to define a chamber therebetween capable of holding water. Each of the sides are joined to the base at a base edge. Each of the sides has a pair of lateral edges each meeting the base edge at a corner. Each of the sides has an edge opposed to the base edge and meets each of the lateral edges at a corner. The sheet has corner portions defined between adjacent lateral edges of two of the sides and the periphery and the corner positions are folded to lie against the sides.
In a further additional feature of that aspect of the invention the base is a rectangle and two of the sides, joined to the base on opposite sides of the rectangle, are trapezoidal. In a still further additional feature of that aspect of the invention the chamber has the shape of an inverted, truncated rectangular based pyramid. In yet another additional feature of that aspect of the invention the container has an internal face made from a reflective material and the liner is transparent.
In another aspect of the invention there is a soft sided insulated container, and a removable liner for placement inside the container. The liner is formed from a water impermeable plastic sheet. The sheet has a periphery. The liner has a rectangular base and four sides extending from the base to form a chamber therebetween, each of the sides being joined to the base at a base edge. The sheet is folded on a first pair of parallel fold lines to define one pair of the base edges. The sheet is folded on a second pair of fold lines to define the remainder of the edges. The sheet has four corner portions each defined between an end portion of one of the first pair of fold lines, an adjacent end portion of one of the second pair of fold lines and the periphery, and the corner portions are folded to lie against the sides.
In an additional feature of that aspect of the invention the sides have an inside face and an outside face and the corner portions are folded to lie against the outside faces. In another additional feature of that aspect of the invention each of the corners is folded to form a triangular flap, and each of the flaps is folded to lie against one of the sides. In still another additional feature of that aspect of the invention one of the triangular flaps is folded to lie against each of the sides of the liner. In still yet another additional feature of that aspect of the invention two of the triangular flaps are folded to lie against one side of the liner. In a further additional feature of that aspect of the invention two of the triangular flaps are folded to lie against one side of the liner, and the other two triangular flaps are folded to lie against another side of the liner.
In still a further additional feature of that aspect of the invention each of the sides has a distal edge opposed to its respective base edge. The chamber has a lip defined by the distal edges. The corner portions are fastened to the sides adjacent the lip. In still yet a further additional feature of that aspect of the invention one of the sides has a cover flap formed integrally therewith, and joined thereto at a cover fold, the cover flap mating with the distal edges of the remaining sides of the liner. In an additional feature of that aspect of the invention the container has a reflective inner surface and the liner is transparent.
In another aspect of the invention, there is a soft sided, collapsible, insulated container assembly. It has a first collapsible insulated container portion, a second collapsible container portion and a common wall shared between said first and second container portions. The first container portion has an insulated wall structure and a first chamber defined therewithin. The second container portion having an insulated wall structure and a second chamber defined therewithin. The common wall segregates the first and second chambers from each other. The first chamber is maintainable at a different environmental condition from the environmental condition of the second chamber.
In an additional feature of that aspect of the invention, one of the insulated container portions has a liner for containing liquids mounted within its respective chamber. In another additional feature, both of the insulated container portions have liners for containing liquids therein. In a further additional feature, the liner has a lowest extremity and an upper lip, and the liner is seamless to a depth of at least half the height from the lowest extremity to the upper lip. In a further additional feature, the liner is removable from its respective chamber. In a still further additional feature, the container has a partition member mounted within the liner. In an additional feature of that additional feature, the partition member includes a stiffening element. In another additional feature of that additional feature, the partition includes a thermally insulative layer for discouraging heat transfer through the partition. In still another additional feature, the liner has a fitting for engaging the partition, and the partition is movable to a plurality of positions in engagement with the fitting. In still yet another additional feature, the respective chamber has a plan form section, the partition is moveable to lie in a horizontal orientation relative to the chamber, and, in that horizontal position, the partition has a shape to match the plan form section.
In a further aspect of the invention, there is a soft sided collapsible container assembly. It includes a collapsible insulated wall structure having a chamber defined therewithin. A removable liner is provided for discouraging leakage of liquid from within the chamber. The liner has a lowest extremity and a lip. The liner is seamless to a height a least half way from the lowest extremity to the lip. There is a segregation member for dividing the chamber into at least two sub-compartments.
In an additional feature of that aspect of the invention, the segregation member is movable between a plurality of positions within the liner. In another additional feature, the segregation member is movable to at least one substantially vertical position for dividing the chamber into sub-compartments lying horizontally adjacent to the segregation member. In a further additional feature, the segregation member is movable to at least one substantially horizontal position for dividing the chamber into sub-compartments lying above and below the segregation member. In another additional feature, the partition member includes a stiffening element. I still another additional feature, the partition member includes a thermally insulative layer for discouraging heat transfer through the partition member.